Twice is Nice…. Tasty Tapas at Boqueria

Last year I had my 25th bday party at Boqueria in SoHo – delicious. But I haven’t been back since….so on a nice Friday night way back in September, I was in the mood for tapas and some Jamón Ibérico… so I decided to hit up Boqueria – the Flatiron one.

First thing’s first. Sangria. They have red, white and pink [seriously… haha well “Rosé” ;D But I just like the sound of PINK sangria….

And Sangria we had…. One pitcher of red sangria…
….followed by a pitcher of white….

This is a blend of the most important varieties of the island of Mallorca; callet, manto negre and fogoneu, which make up 80% of the wine’s composition. Aged in oak barrels over a period of 13 months gives us a balanced and elegant wine with a unique personality.

I totally adored the soft pork sausage [Sobrasada], it just melted in your mouth and was absolutely delicious. I also was a huge fan of the Salchichón…. it was like a spicier version of the sobrasada….

Pimientos de PadrónBlistered Shishito Peppers, coarse sea salt

I HAVE to order this everytime I’m at a tapas place….. I know I recently talked about this on my Craftbar post. But, whatevz… deliciousness. Salty, oil, crunchy goodness.

Do you call them garbanzos or chickpeas? I like the sound of chickpea more but I use them pretty interchangeably… chick chick chick…. ;D This was a bit greasy but I loved the different textures… spinach can get a bit mushy but this was cooked well , the garbanzos were the perfect munching texture… just enough garlic… great pop of the pine nuts and the sweetness of the raisins. I’m not a huge raisin fan usually – unless used well [and in oatmeal raisin cookies]

Espárragos y RomescoGrilled green asparagus, almond romesco sauce

Gobble gobble munch munch. These were skinny minnie asaparagus. I love asparagus. I love love love it. I adored the tips when I was a kid and then I went thru a phase where I wouldn’t touch it for a few years – and now I’m addicted again – obsessed even. Minus the pee, which I pee proudly, but it still stinks.

Urine effects

The effect of eating asparagus on the eater’s urine has long been observed:

“[Asparagus] cause a filthy and disagreeable smell in the urine, as everybody knows.” (Treatise of All Sorts of FoodsLouis Lemery, 1702)[24]

“asparagus… affects the urine with a foetid smell (especially if cut when they are white) and therefore have been suspected by some physicians as not friendly to the kidneys; when they are older, and begin to ramify, they lose this quality; but then they are not so agreeable” (“An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments,” John Arbuthnot, 1735)[25]

There is debate about whether all (or only some) people produce the smell, and whether all (or only some) people identify the smell. It was originally thought this was because some of the population digested asparagus differently from others, so that some people excreted odorous urine after eating asparagus, and others did not. However, in the 1980s three studies from France,[27] China and Israel published results showing that producing odorous urine from asparagus was a universal human characteristic. The Israeli study found that from their 307 subjects all of those who could smell ‘asparagus urine’ could detect it in the urine of anyone who had eaten asparagus, even if the person who produced it could not detect it himself.[28] Thus, it is now believed that most people produce the odorous compounds after eating asparagus, but only about 22% of the population have the autosomal genes required to smell them.[29][30][31]

We had ordered the Iberico with the other meats and cheeses but apparently they needed a special person to cut it from the special ham and it arrived seperately [and a lot later] SO worth the $$ and the wait.

Jamón Ibérico FermínHand-cut Ibérico ham, aged 36 months

I’ve never met an Iberico I’ve never fell madly in love with and want to have a crazy romantic affair with…. It was melt in your mouth amazing. If you’re ever in the mood for Iberico though… I suggest you go to Bar Basque… they have an Iberico tasting with Serrano as well…. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING [that’ll be my next blog post actually]

Aside from the one time I had horrible mussel experience, I love mussels….. these were delicious. Even though, yes I know I keep repeating this, bacon and chorizo is such a cop out to making any dish good, this was done right. Maybe it had something to do with the whole house-made? Sometimes I find chorizo too greasy or too salty, but this just perfectly flavored the broth which cooked the mussels perfectly.

Croqueta de MaízMarket Corn Croquettes, Poblano Pepper Aioli

Now, I’m not a huge croquettes person… mainly because I’m not a huge potato person and I find them to be just fried potato mush… but, I DO love CORN… these were good, not great, nothing special. They’re exactly how you’d imagine them to be.

Gambas al AjilloShrimp, garlic, and Guindilla pepper in olive oil

Another must get at tapas… garlic-y shrimp. Omg there was SOOO much garlic and oil but it was good. It always is.

See, more proof that pork makes everything better…. It was simple but so freaking good. Yep, the shroom addict that I am was VERY happy with this. The cheese was warm and creamy and just melted the moment it entered my mouth… mixing into the chew of the mushrooms, bits of guanciale – it was MAGICAL. Haha….

Poached egg. Lentils. Truffle. Bacon. Serrano Ham. Seriously. How could this POSSIBLY be bad? Exactly. NADA. NO FREAKING WAY. And it was good…

AlbondigasLamb meatballs in tomato sauce, sheep’s milk cheese

Yes yes I know I’ve expressed how I’m not a huge fan of lamb, but I AM of meatballs…. and with the right spices, I do enjoy lamb now and then. These were great :] Perfectly spiced and sauced… and I love the name “Albondigas”… it’s so fun to say…. really!!! Say it. SAY IT OUT LOUD NOW.

MOOOORE CHICKPEAS… and squid. I love squid. [secretly like eating babies, so I had to eat baby squid.. haha I’m kidding… just about the human babies part] When I see squid or octopus I HAVE to get it [if you haven’t noticed I’m a HUGE seafood person…. hmmmm, I think I keep repeating everything over and over again – V is for Vanity, woo!!!] This was good, nothing special – but not overcooked, great flavors and pretty light. Trying to go heavy with squid is just plain wrong – but you can prove me wrong if you want :] I’m willing to try anything AND to be proven wrong. And don’t just tell me to eat it fried with mayo.

It tasted like good grilled fish. I don’t remember much of it. Remember? Sangria, sangria, wine wine wine?!?!?!… But I LOOOOVE delicata squash – so I’m always up for trying ANY dish with it. [Unless smoothered in goat cheese…]

We were supposed to get the Hanger Steak as well….. but I was completely loopy from all the sangria and wine :] Delicious times….